Uniontown native Esper new secretary of defense
WASHINGTON — It took seven months, but President Donald Trump on Tuesday finally got a Senate- confirmed secretary of defense to succeed Jim Mattis.
Mark Esper — a native of Uniontown in Fayette County, an Army veteran and former defense industry lobbyist — won Senate confirmation by a vote of 90- 8 and was sworn in at the White House by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito in a ceremony attended by Mr. Trump and several members of Mr. Esper’s family.
“He’s going to be a great one,” Mr. Trump said.
Mr. Esper’s swearing- in ended the longest period the Pentagon has gone without a confirmed leader in its history.
The turmoil atop the Pentagon began when Mr. Mattis stepped down last New Year’s Eve after a series of policy disputes with Mr. Trump. He offered to stay two more
months to get a successor in place and ensure continuity, but Mr. Trump said no.
The president was high on Mr. Mattis at the start of his administration. He liked to call the retired Marine general “Mad Dog,” but the affection waned and shortly before Mr. Mattis quit Mr. Trump referred to him as “sort of a Democrat.”
Even with Mr. Esper now in charge, the problem of leadership instability at the Pentagon is not fully resolved. There still is no Senate- confirmed deputy secretary of defense, though David Norquist on Tuesday was nominated for the post and is scheduled to have a confirmation hearing Wednesday. Mr. Norquist has been filling in as deputy since January; his regular job is Pentagon budget chief.
The senior leadership vacancies increased again last week with the departure of David Trachtenberg, the Pentagon’s second- ranking civilian policy official.
Beyond that, the No. 2ranking military officer, Gen. Paul Selva, is retiring Friday as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. No Senate confirmation hearing has been set for the man picked by Mr. Trump to replace Gen. Selva: Gen. John Hyten, who has been commander of U. S. nuclear forces as head of U. S. Strategic Command.
A military officer has accused Gen. Hyten of sexual misconduct. An investigation found insufficient evidence to charge Gen. Hyten, but some members of Congress have raised questions about that process.
At his confirmation hearing July 16, Mr. Esper promised that one of his first priorities would be to fix the problem of leadership vacancies.
Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond, said he believes that in the months since Mr. Mattis left, the Pentagon’s sway within the administration has weakened.
“This seems to be the primary challenge that Mr. Esper confronts,” Mr. Tobias said by email.
As a Uniontown native, Mr. Esper said he feels a special connection to perhaps that city’s most famous native son — Gen. George Marshall.
“If you go to nearly any office in the Pentagon, you will find George Marshall’s portrait,” he said during a visit to Pittsburgh in September.
Sen. Pat Toomey, R- Pa., issued the following statement: “Mark Esper will make an outstanding Secretary of Defense. He is a decorated combat veteran, a former senior policy advisor at the Defense Department and in the Senate, and, most recently, an exceptional Secretary of the Army. Our armed services are in good hands under his leadership.”